General enquiries

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Education

Telephone

Information line

0844 482 7777

Booking line

0844 482 7799

Membership

0844 482 7788

Events enquiries

0844 482 7795

All information is drawn from or provided by the venues themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

The feminine influence of generations of royal women has shaped this stylish palace and elegant gardens.

Venue Type:

Adult £16.50Child (under 16) FreeChildren must be accompanied by an adult.ConcessionsFull-time students, over 60yrs with ID £13.70

Annual membership (unlimited entry to six palaces) From £46.00

Additional info

Pushchairs can be left at the security desk in the ticket hall and baby-changing facilities are available in the toilets next to the shop. A children's menu is available in the Orangery restaurant.

Disabled access to Kensington Palace is limited as the State Apartments are on the first floor and there is no lift. Wheelchair users should be advised that access to the State Apartments will require the visitor to walk up a shallow flight of 30 steps.

However, all areas of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection are accessible by wheelchair, as is the Orangery restaurant, which has a wheelchair ramp. There are disabled toilet facilities on the ground floor, next to the shop.

The sound guide scripts are available in written form for visitors with hearing difficulties.

Visitors with disabilities are admitted at a concessionary rate and an accompanying carer is given free entry. Please notify the admissions staff when purchasing your tickets.

There is limited disabled parking next to the Orangery. As space is restricted, it is advisable to book in advance. Please telephone +44 (0)20 7937 9561.

The Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection at Kensington Palace is a Designated Collection of national importance.

There are no other collections of court dress comparable to this one. The collection includes court dress fashions from the 18th and 20th centuries, as well as emphasising the role of the trades-people who made the costumes. The collection acts as an outward manifestation of the significance of royalty and governing institutions in Europe, gives insights into important events in the nation’s history, and helps to explain the complex hierarchy of courtly life.

Follow Victoria’s story from the room in which she spent her first moments as queen. Trace her journey from young girl to queen enthralled with a new husband, to grieving matriarch and ruler of a vast empire.

The exhibition includes iconic, impressive, beautiful and often deeply personal objects, from Victoria’s simple white silk wedding gown, to the dolls she made, dressed and named as a little girl. Victoria and the people who surrounded her tell this story: excerpts from her journals, letters and reports from contemporary commentators give insight into the extraordinary life of the woman whose name defined an age.

Suitable for

Any age

Family friendly

Admission

The exhibition is included in your palace admission.

Website

Fashion Rules

2 July 2014 — 4 July 2015 *on now

A nipped-in waist in the 50s, short skirts and diaphanous fabrics in the 60s and 70s, sparkles and shoulder pads in the 80s – these were the fashion rules we all dressed by, even members of the Royal Family.

Take a nostalgic look back at recent decades of dress through the wardrobes of three royal women in their fashion heydays: HM Queen Elizabeth II in the 1950s, Princess Margaret in the 1960s and 70s and Diana, Princess of Wales in the 1980s. Five rooms of elegant dress displays will explore how these women reflected the style and trends of the day, negotiating the rules of dressing fashionably within the ‘rules’ of a royal wardrobe.

Featuring 21 exceptional couture dresses, the exhibition will be complemented by film and photography to set the scene and provide a feeling of the times in which these stunning gowns were.

KS3 session - Making Britain Great!

In these Making Britain Great sessions, your students take on the role of members of parliament, and vote to influence the outcome of one of three key events that helped shape modern Britain. In each session students will examine the evidence, then use interactive voting technology to reconsider the historic decision. Will they side with precedent, or change the course of British history?These sessions especially support the key concept of cause and consequence as students analyse the reasons for, and results of historical events, and the key processes of historical enquiry and using evidence, as they reflect critically on historical issues.A Glorious Revolution?It is 1688. James II is

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session, please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646.

Resources

A Level sessions

Leisure, travel and tourismHistoric Royal Palaces is embarking on its most ambitious project to date: the total transformation of the visitor experience at Kensington Palace. As part of this process, the education team is offering a unique insight into the redevelopment of a major heritage site.Bespoke talks and tours can cover most modules in Leisure, Travel, Tourism and Business studies BTEC, GCSE, AS and A2. Call us to discuss your needs on 020 3166 6626.A-level: British EmpireThis session, which includes a workshop and subject-specific tour, draws on Kensington Palace's role as a centre for court life from 1689-1760 to discuss key factors in the early development of the British E

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session, please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646.

Paper-based and downloads

A Really Royal Palace: State Apartment Trail

No wonder so many royals loved Kensington Palace: it's where they could do things that regal rulers really loved doing. Imagine you are a visitor to the palace with an appointment to see the King and follow our trail around the State Apartments.

How to obtain

Download this children's activity trail from our website.

Digital and online resources

Brand new schools and colleges programme for September 2009

From drama to design, from fashion to politics, the new programme at Kensington Palace offers fresh and fascinating takes on history, citizenship and culture. Come and find out how Victoria and Albert fell in love, how William III and Mary II seized the throne or practice your storytelling skills in our enchanting palace. We have new sessions for KS1, KS2, KS3, GCSE and A Level students. To find out more about the sessions on offer or to book please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools

GCSE session - Media Through Time

From the vicious political satires of the 18th century, to the drama of Victoria's accession in the 19th, to the glamour of late 20th century royalty, Kensington Palace has always been in the media eye. In this session, specially developed for the new AQA unit, students will use Kensington Palace's rich history to take a chronological look at the mutually dependent relationship that has developed between the media and the monarchy.The session covers key concepts of causation and the varying influence of different factors on developments through analysis of primary sources, discussion and debate.

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session, please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646.

Face to face resources

KS1 session - My Perfect Palace

How do you build a palace for a king and 600 courtiers? By exploring the amazing State Apartments, students will find out. They'll also learn what life was like at court, and how to prepare for a royal audience! The session highlights features of homes across time, while also revealing what makes a palace special.This session especially supports skills of historical interpretation and enquiry by comparing homes of the past to those of the present.

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session, please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646.

Face to face resources

KS1 session - Really Royal Stories

Forget fairytales... come to Kensington Palace and find out how real kings, queens, princes and princesses lived. In this storytelling and drama session students will learn about royal life in this most perfect of palaces. The session explores the beautiful state apartments – a great place for students to practise the storytelling skills developed during the session!This session especially supports skills of historical enquiry and English speaking and listening by exploring the historic environment through storytelling.

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session, please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646

Face to face resources

KS1 session - Victoria's Toys

What was Queen Victoria's favourite toy? Through storytelling and drama, students will learn about the young Victoria's childhood, education and pastimes at Kensington Palace. Students will look at the Queen's original toys and handle replica items.By comparing toys of today and those of the past, this session especially supports chronological understanding, historical enquiry and knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past.

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646.

Face to face resources

KS2 session - Rags and Riches: Victorian childhood in Kensington

This session compares the very different lives of two girls growing up in Kensington in the early 1830s. Young Princess Victoria spends her days in the luxury of the palace. Orphaned Annie Jarvis lives and works in the Kensington Workhouse. Using primary sources, students will investigate Victoria and Annie's daily routines. They'll also see the rooms where Victoria spent her childhood and try on replica costume.By analysing differing lives of children in the Victorian age, this session especially supports skills of historical interpretation and enquiry.

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session, please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646.

Face to face resources

KS2 session - Victoria and Albert Rule!

This session looks at one of the most famous royal couples of all time, Victoria and Albert. How did they meet? Did they really fall in love at first sight? Students become royal reporters, recording the romance, extravagant wedding and lives of this amazing couple. They’ll see the rooms where the two first met, and piece together the impact they had on British society.This session especially supports skills of historical enquiry and organisation and communication as students complete their reports.

Creator

Jenny Wedgbury

How to obtain

To book a session, please go to www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonschools or alternatively phone our booking office on 020 3166 6646.